CU/Green on our refuse

CU/Green: Things Cedarville University should consider doing in order to be good stewards of the Earth.

Spy Hill landfill. Flickr photo from D’Arcy Norman. CC.

Recycling

mandate recycling of all recyclables, in all buildings. Why make it a hard rule? First, rules aren’t resented here as much as it may seem. Lots of people didn’t mind the dress code. (And this rule actually caters to the crowd that usually resents rules, so you’re covered there.) Second, we’ve had recycling available in some places for years — it hasn’t been used at a high capacity. Rules are one way of teaching. A huge part of CU/Green is an educational experience: learning why and how we should take care of the planet. But a mandate will require many more receptacles (and likely bigger ones) — essentially one next to every garbage can. And we’ll have to have a contract that allows all recyclables, like the Village has (or better).

Composting

We should start with the easiest switch — the cafeteria. Make sure we’re using compostable paper napkins and combine them with all food garbage. A harder project will be getting airtight receptacles for the dorms, but we can do that later. We’ll have to save our gathered leaves and some grass clippings to use when we need to adjust the composition for optimal heat. If we don’t use the compost on our own farm, it can be sold — or, better yet, given away to a nonprofit farm like the one being planned for Wilmington, Ohio. They’ll be giving all their produce from a 10-acre farm to food pantries.

Waste disposal

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Those are in descending order of importance, and nowhere on it does “throw away” appear. If we find we buy stuff that we eventually just throw away, maybe we should rethink what we’re buying in the first place. This concept is so contrary to American thinking at this period in history, but it wasn’t always this way.